I Did It!!

I am so excited that I was able to complete the backpack tutorial from Made by Rae. I fell in love with the cute little toddler backpack the moment I saw it. After scouring the flicker group to see what others had made I was convinced that I needed to make one for each of my boys. It is the perfect size for traveling. The pattern was very well written with pictures and tips along the way. The only really difficult part for me was sewing the bottom curves to the front and back of the backpack (let me know if you have any tips). I was not sure what fabric to use and I did not want to wait for the really cute patterned canvas fabric Rae recommended. So I used a cotton print I thought my older son would like and using Wonder Under fused it to bottom weight apparel fabric (it has a lighter weight canvas feel to it and can be washed in the machine). I was able to complete the backpack in about 3 hours! The next morning I gave it to my son and he loved it. He called it his jet pack. So cute. I cannot wait to make one for my younger son...he is going to love it.

Truck Painting

One of my favorite painting activities with toddlers is truck painting. I purchase some cheap toy trucks at dollar store. The ones that I have found work best are the trucks that are in the sand toy section. You can really see the track marks with the sand toy trucks. Put the paint on a paper plate or plastic take out container. Roll the wheels in the paint so they are completely covered and then let them at it. I really like using black paper and white or yellow paint

Mr. Matzah Man

Unfortunately there are not that many unique Jewish toys to play with. So after I made a Mr. Potato Head out of felt a friend of mine suggested making a Mr. Matzah Man (it was around Passover time). Brilliant! The next day I had to make one. Here is Mr. Matzah Man (or Mrs. Matzah)!

Homemade Playdough

As a mom to 2 young boys (although one is going into kindergarten soon) and a preschool teacher I love play dough. I love that it helps develop fine motor skills, imagination, and it is just fun to squish. So here is my recipe with a little extra easy step to make it really smooth (that my friend and fellow preschool teacher taught me).

Play dough Recipe

1 1/2 cup salt
3 cups warm water
3 cups flour
6 teaspoons cream of tarter
3 tablespoons oil
food coloring (optional)
essential oil or glitter (optional add ins)

1. In a large mixing bowl add salt and warm water. Stir to dissolve some of the salt (not all will dissolve now and that is okay)

2. Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir.

3. Here is the "magic" step! Use a hand mixer and mix all of the ingredients in the bowl for about a minute.

4. Add in food coloring (and essential oil/glitter). Mix again with hand mixer.

5. Transfer to pot and place on the stove top and cook on medium heat. You need to stir it constantly and when if forms a ball it is finished (probably 3-5 minutes on the stove)

6. Let cool on tin foil for a few minutes. I usually store in a Ziploc bag.

7. Play and create!

Additional tips:
If you use essential oil you will need to use a lot. You can always add more while it is cooking, but I had to use way more than I thought.

Also if you want more than one color add the food coloring after it is cooked.

Finally, to make the color a surprise for the kiddos do not add food coloring before cooking. Once it is cooked divide into 3 balls (or however many colors you want) and add food coloring in the middle and have the kids mush and mix it in their hand to find out what color it will be.

My First Blog Post

Wow! This is going to be my first ever blog post. I have sceretly followed craft and mommy blogs for the past year and thought it was time to have my own. Not sure mow to do everything yet, but hopefully I figure it out soon. I hope to post about many things like my love for crafting, kids, and daily adventures. Thanks for stopping by.